u/RangerBooga

LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE

• Country
  • USA
• Budget
  • Ideally around $300–$400. ~$500 max budget but would prefer to remain within the $300–$400 range. USD.
• Are you open to refurbs/used options?
  • Yes — must be in decent condition if used. Nothing that I'll have to fix or replace within months of ownership.
• Screen size
  • Ideally within 14"–16". If bigger, no issue. Just not smaller.
• Weight limit
  • No preference, just looking to not have a brick to carry around, but I also don't need something extremely light.
• Purpose
  • College! I have a somewhat "beefy" desktop/gaming PC that I use for more demanding programs, but when going to visit my girlfriend or going on a trip I'd like to have something I can use to continue studies while not at my desktop.
• Form factor
  • Standard/clamshell. Don't need anything fancy.
• Intended usage
  • Main usage would be for school. Computer Science major. Not currently enrolled in any courses that would require programs to be ran regarding the major, but being prepared for it would be nice. Recommended/minimum specs listed in last bullet point. I wish I could answer questions surrounding "What programs will you be using?" but I am unsure as those courses aren't scheduled until next year.
• Desired battery life
  • No heavy or set preference, something that'll last me a few hours without needing to be charged.
• Please list, in order of most important to least important, the priority between Size, Weight, Performance, Battery life
  • #1 Performance
  • #2 Battery life
  • #3 Size
  • #4 Weight
• Info/Requirements
  • Looking to stray away from Chromebooks and MacBooks. I've been told to stray away from Chromebooks for program compatibility reasons. Additionally, I do not have any devices that would put me in the Apple "environment", I would prefer to not have to set all of that up.
  • Preferably something that already has Windows 11, not a deal-breaker if it doesn't have it but would prefer it to already have OS installed.
  • I don't need anything that's going to meet the recommended spec as I'd prefer to not break bank, and I understand that my budget might not reflect what I'd be able to get here, but any recommendations that are at least close are appreciated.
  • School's minimum specs are: Quad-core Intel i7 series or AMD equivalent (CPU), 32gb RAM, 1TB SSD, 1050 or higher, 4GB (GPU).
  • School's recommended specs are: Quad-core Intel i9 series or AMD equivalent (CPU), 64GB RAM, 1TB SSD, GTX 4060, 8GB (GPU).

Frist-time car buyer here, looking to purchase something used under ~$15,000 and I currently have my eyes on a 2018 Mazda for ~$11,000, but it has 153,000 miles on it.

Is this too high of mileage for a used vehicle? Even if it's a Mazda which are fairly recognized to be some of the highest reliability vehicles at the moment? I don't plan on putting thousands and thousands of miles on it as I'm currently a student in college and plan to work part-time to assist in funding school and saving up for my future and I've heard mixed things about higher-mileage vehicles (140k+) and just want some other opinions/insight on the matter.

Hello all! I've recently begun the car hunting process for a first vehicle for myself and after looking at a 2018 CX-5 at a dealership I've quite honestly fallen in love with the Mazda SUV line (CX-5 specifically). I'm a big dude, and I wasn't expecting the CX-5 to be as comfortable as it was for my size so I was immediately hooked onto it and it drives beautifully.

While looking, I used to be hard set on a Honda due to having a few in the family in the past and knowing how reliable they were, but after doing some looking and research into the Mazda side of things I've found that Mazda are also up there in terms of maintenance and reliability. With that being said, I do still have a couple of questions about Mazda in general that I've unfortunately not had much luck in finding in my own independent research as there's so many different opinions, so I figured I'd ask here to see if I could get some answers and better insight on some things!

• What's the realistic reliability looking like for a CX-5 after 100,000 miles? I was looking at one that has ~153,000 miles on it (2018), and normally I'd stray away from high mileage like that, but I've heard that Mazdas can hit high mileage considering that you do routine maintenance and "keep up" with the car. Is 155,000 too high for a Mazda? (and to be clear, I am looking to stay within a 90,000–125,000 mileage range, but the price of this one is great (~$11,000 for a 2018 CX-5 Touring with 153k))
• This one may be more opinion-based and more of a "gauging" question, but what's the "best" year from your guys' experience of the CX-5 line? I've seen a couple of videos that pinned anything in 2017 or 2019+ to be some of the best with a few of the "teen" year models being a bit different in terms of reliability compared to the newer models. I'm looking to ideally look at a 2017+ as I love the looks and have heard that the reliability is good, but of course, looks are somewhat secondary to reliability.
• This kind of ties in with the first question, but what are some legitimate concerns or things to keep an eye out for higher mileage CX-5s? For example, the Honda Pilot uses a timing belt which can wear out quicker than a timing chain so that concern is still there, but not as prevelant—is there anything similar with the CX-5 line to be worried about or that I should "prepare" for in ownership on a higher-mileage vehicle?
• Is it unrealistic to have a budget of ~$15,500 in a search for a CX-5 (ideally 2017+)? I know the car market at the moment is brutal, but it's just what I'm working with at the moment and I'm just curious if I'm going to be "Honda'd" with this where it'll be near impossible to find a CX-5 with decent miles within that range.

Sorry for asking so many questions, but I really hope I get some good insight on this!